Consequences
by HotaruGFC
Summary: Sequel to Stuck and Yami's Contemplation. Charlotte tries to figure out how to deal with the consequences of her actions during the time in the cave with Yami. Julius is Julius. Alluded YamixCharlotte. Alluded manga spoilers at least through chapter 160-ish, but nothing specific.
1. Chapter 1

"Well, thank you all for your input. If there's nothing else, I'll see you all next time." Julius Novo Chrono smiled at his knight captains. Not all had been able to attend the impromptu meeting, but the ones he had been most interested in had shown up, and in the end, that's all that mattered to him. The captains stood and saluted. Well, almost everyone saluted, before they started to file out of the room. He turned to leave himself, anxious to go exploring once more when a voice stopped him.

"Sir? Can I talk to you?"

His mind processed the question. The voice was female; he wagered it was Charlotte and not Dorthy. He calculated probabilities in an instant, orienting himself within the possible time streams. He compared past events leading up to the moment: Charlotte being saved from the curse by Yami, Yami admitting his own feelings in confidence a few months later, Yami picking Asta to join his squad, the rise of Midnight Sun, Fuegoleon's incapication, the cave-in. Everything pointed to a narrowing of the future's possibilities. This moment was a junction, as was every moment leading them to either victory or utter destruction.

He turned to her, smiling, wondering which path she would choose.

"Of course, Charlotte."

"In private?" He noticed her hands, clenched in fists as she stared at the table before her.

He glanced to the far door where the other captains were leaving. Yami had stopped in the frame of the door and looked back at them. His eyes were focused on the woman at the table. Julius looked from one to the other until he met Yami's eyes briefly. He could tell his protege was troubled as he lingered. Something seemed to agonize him as he looked at her. She, on the other hand, looked down at the ornate inlay on the table's surface. After a moment, Julius shooed Yami out of the room with a flick of his fingers. The Black Bulls captain hesitated but Julius gave him the look he had often given the younger man when he needed a reprimand and Yami turned to leave, pulling the door shut behind him. Julius made a note to have a chat with him later.

"We can talk in my study. Come." He turned quickly, expecting her to follow along. He was not disappointed when she entered the more intimate room right after him. He offered her a seat.

"Julius." She couldn't bring herself to look at him. She shifted in the leather chair she had chosen. He sat across from her and waited for her to continue. "I..." She took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

A wide grin spread across his face. To him, this was the best news. And the best path forward. He reached forward and squeezed her hand.

"Congratulations." His voice was soft and filled with awe. He had never had children of his own. From the time his magic had manifested, he knew he never would be afforded the chance. Or rather had he taken the path in which he did have a family, they would never survive the coming destruction. And neither would any one else.

"You're not mad?" She asked, her voice halting after every word. He looked at him with wide fearful eyes.

"Why would I be mad? A child is such a blessing." He squeezed her hand again. More threads fell away from the path, weakening the branch which lead to defeat and strengthening the road to survival and victory. More calculations, more probabilities, more choices, more options filtered through his mind.

"I'm sure she will be an amazing person. Have you told Yami?"

"How did you know?"

"A lucky guess?" He said, hoping it would be enough to satisfy her curiosity. He hated having to explain how he knew what he knew, or to tell her how he had been angling for this to happen all along. Time manipulation was never easy, and even more difficult to explain. "The tension between you two has been growing exponentially since the cave-in. Honestly, it was getting out of hand, even before." He chuckled. "Besides, I'm a weirdo who knows things, at least that's what he tells me. I'm surprised he hadn't told you."

"I know the two of you are friends, but..."

"Friends. An interesting way to describe our relationship." His voice was distant, lost in his own thoughts and and calculations.

"Did, did he tell you what happened in the cave?"

Julius shook his head. Yami had never been one to talk much to anyone about anything, and Julius had been busy in his own right.

"No, but he didn't need to."

She furrowed her brow as she looked at him, her blue eyes narrow and her lips pressed into a thin line.

"He's right. You are a weirdo who knows things."

"And this weirdo happens to be able to read Yami like a book. Something changed in him after the cave in. I don't exactly know what it is, but he's... different. And Yami being Yami, I would have been more surprised if he hadn't tried anything when you two were stuck in the cave."

Charlotte blushed.

"He's been in love with you for, well, years. It's been painful to watch, actually, as the two of you danced around the issue, denying it, ignoring it for so long."

"He, he loves me?" The shock returned to her face. She shook her head in disbelief. He smiled in sympathy as he nodded.

"Maybe love is too strong a word, but attracted to you? Definitely." He had seen his eye wandering her way when he was still a junior knight under his command. His interest, and lack of action on the matter, when Julius knew he had no hesitation pursuing other women, was one of several threads which had led him down his course of action, and led him to investigate her further. "Since the battle at Shalen, at least."

Julius watched her as she thought back to the battle. She remembered seeing Yami there. She knew they had shared the battlefield, and a campfire afterwards, but they had barely spoken to each other. What she had learned and seen of him at the battle had helped to cement her opinions of him as a barbarian. He had fought like a beast-far more like a raging bull than any other creature she could think of. She wondered what he had seen in her then to draw him to her. She had certainly not been drawn to him then, not until a few months after, when he had broken the curse threatening to overcome her and all she held dear. Even then she had fought and denied her feelings for years.

"Shalen, huh?"

"He'll never admit to it though." He smiled at her again. "I barely got him to admit it to me after he broke your curse. And it was only in the most roundabout, non-committal way." He sighed, smiling at the memory. He looked at Charlotte, who seemed to be searching her memories of any indication that what he said was true.

"You need to tell him." He said after a long silence. She looked up at him confused for a moment before remembering why they were having the discussion in the first place. As she registered his words, she felt her blood turn cold and her skin pale

"But what am I supposed to do about my squad. It's not like I can abandon them. They will probably think I did anyway, when they find out."

He sat back and steepled his fingers over his lips as he looked at her for a moment.

"Maybe they will. Maybe they will feel betrayed. But you cannot control how they will react, and you won't be able to keep this a secret for long. It's already been, what, two, three months since the cave-in?"

"Yes."

"And I'm assuming you haven't had any other secret rendezvous? With Yami or anyone else?"

She looked aghast.

"What? No, of course not."

"So you'll start to show sooner rather than later."

She shifted in her seat, considering her options.

"I should step down. You can find a replacement. I'll, I'll go back home and..." She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"I'm not asking for that, Charlotte. I will never ask you to abandon what you hold so dear." He reached out for her hand and squeezed it once more. "But you must decide for yourself what is the right course of action, what information needs to be given and to whom you will give it. But, I think you should still tell him, at least."

She took a deep breath before standing.

"Thank you for your time." She saluted. He stood with her and embraced her.

"I only wish it had happened sooner." God knows I tried hard enough to get the two of you together, he thought. "This child is a blessing, Charlotte. You will see. She will be amazing, and I hope I am able to meet her." He whispered before pulling away. He looked down at her, his hands on her shoulders. He gave her a final smile before she nodded.

"Let me know what you decide. If you do feel the need to step down, I will support you. But I hope you stay."

He watched her cross the short distance to the door and pull it closed behind her before he turned to his desk to find a tattered red notebook. He flipped through the pages until he found one in particular. He crossed out several lines on the page before turning back a few pages and circling certain sections. Looking at the notes he had scrawled, he shook his head. The child was on her way, which was good, but she was cutting it close. He wondered if he would survive long enough to see her born, but he grew more skeptical as he looked at the path the past had taken, and the options for the future. He knew his time was coming soon, and he had to plan past that roadblock. He had to set in motion the things which would come after.

He was not afraid of his own death. He had seen it so many times with so many possibilities, the fear had lost its teeth. But he feared what might happen without him. He feared the kids may not be strong enough.

* * *

She ambled through the halls on her way out of the building. Lost in her own thoughts, she let her feet guide her. Julius had said she should tell him, that he deserved to know. And she wanted to, really she did. But she also still felt like what had happened between them was a mistake, that this child was an even bigger mistake. She sighed, chastising herself. She should never have given in to his, well, she couldn't say charms because he was not charming in the least. She sighed again, knowing the blame lie with her, her desire, her weakness.

She should have been stronger; she should have had greater control over herself, her emotions, and her desires. As she walked, she recalled the words of her predecessor.

"I'm pleased you are still with us, Charlotte." The older woman's voice was harsh, cold, and loveless. Her dark eyes saw everything around her from their position in her severe looking face, only made more so by the tight bun she wound her graying hair into. "I would have hated to lose such a promising young knight."

"Thank you, Ma'am." Charlotte felt her heart flutter in fear as the woman seemed to stare through her flesh and into the depths of her being, uncovering her secrets.

"Though you did not rid break its hold on you yourself, did you."

"No, Ma'am. Looking back now though, I do not believe I could have. Perhaps it was foolish of me to even try."

The old woman scoffed.

"Girl, it is never foolish to build your own strength, or to be able to rely on oneself."

"Yes, Ma'am." She looked at the ground, realizing how foolish she had been to think so little of herself, and how foolish she was to heed his words so readily.

"In the end, you can only count on yourself, Charlotte. Do not forget that."

"I will not, Captain."

"Good. See that you do not. Dismissed."

Charlotte saluted and turned to the door when the captain called her back.

"Oh, and Charlotte. Do not let this interfere with your duties."

"Of course, Captain."

"And whoever broke the curse, I hope he is worthy of your strength. As if any man could be."

She nodded and watched for a moment, waiting for any further comment from the older woman, but her captain had turned her attention back to the paperwork on her desk. Charlotte sighed before turning for the door.

Ever since, Charlotte had wondered if he was worthy of her, or if she had just been a foolish girl to fall for him. Most of what she saw told reaffirmed her ideas about him, show how much of a barbarian he could be, and infuriated her to no end. She often wished it had been someone else, anyone else who had broken the curse. And yet, she could not forget what he had said to her in the midst of her crisis, asking her to trust, trying to convince her she would not be seen as weak if she relied on others, if she trusted others. His words had struck a chord deep with in her, and it had been strumming ever since.

And now, after she had given into her desire for him, she knew deep within the core of her being that the curse could not have been broken by anyone else.

She walked into the room where a spatial mage was on duty to teleport people around the kingdom. The young man smiled at her and opened a portal for her without a word. Which was all well and good; she did not feel like talking. When she stepped through, she found herself looking up at the entrance to her squad's base of operations.

"I've been waiting for you." A short woman about her age said from the gate separating the grounds from the outside world. Charlotte walked through the gate and the dark haired woman followed her up the path to the main building.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she struggled to match her stride to the captain's. "Any sickness? Dizziness?"

"I feel fine, Amberlyn." Charlotte's eyes darted at the other squad members they passed.

"That's great, though you should really limit your use of teleportation magic right now. There have been..."

"Shh." Charlotte hissed before turning on the shorter woman. She looked around to see if anyone was in ear shot before she spoke. "You need to keep this quiet. At least for now, while I...try to figure this all out."

The short woman crossed her arms over her chest and met her superior's gaze with harsh determination.

"Captain. I am your doctor. My concern is your health and the..." She lowered her voice. "And the health of the child you are carrying." She looked around as well to see if anyone overheard. "I will keep your wishes about not telling anyone, but you need to follow orders. If something might be unsafe, you need to listen to me."

"Yeah, well, we're about to go to war. How fucking safe is that?" Charlotte startled as the words came out of her mouth-his words, his crassness. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"You're emotional; you're having mood swings. Charlotte, you're pregnant. It's perfectly normal."

The captain sighed. She was not the first member of the Blue Rose to wind up pregnant. Every so often, one of the girls would have a little too much fun during leave time, or they would take solace in the arms of one of the few men on site, whose sole purpose was to handle the more menial tasks of the squad. Charlotte knew it was a natural side effect, a possibility of their dalliances. She had never reprimanded them for it when it happened. She had suggested a leave of absence, and had always welcomed back those who had left and decided to return. And she made life as easy as possible for those who chose to stay through their term. She had always loved visiting the tiny babies, and she made a point to see each one as soon as possible.

But she had never imagined she would be the one needing to make such a decision. She still had no idea how she was going to break the news to her squad. She turned and continued down the path to the main building.

"And what do you mean, we're about to go to war?" Amberlyn practically ran after her to keep up.

"The Eye of the Midnight Sun is growing more bold. The Wizard King believes they will be launching a major offensive soon. But Julius being Julius, he either didn't have much intelligence or he wasn't sharing it."

"You need to step down, Charlotte."

"I can't do that. Who would take my place? No one has the battle experience I have. No one has faced these beasts before. These guys aren't like the Diamond Kingdom army. As bad as they are, these... terrorists are worse."

"What about Mira?"

Charlotte scoffed.

"Anais?" Amberlyn suggested to the roll of Charlotte's eyes.

"No one is prepared for what's coming, Amberlyn. I have to lead, no matter the risk."

The doctor sighed.

"Just promise me you will take care of yourself."

Charlotte nodded.

"I promise." She strode through the heavy carved door to her office and closed it behind her. She guessed she had one minute to herself, maybe two, before Sol found her. She leaned against the wood.

"I can't tell him." She told herself. "I should just get rid of it, be done with it, move on." But she remembered how happy Julius had been, and how much it seemed to her that he had been expecting the news. She rubbed her hand over her still taut belly, hoping to get a sense of the life growing within. She knew something was wrong within a week of getting rescued. She had been prepared to have difficulty keeping thoughts of Yami from her mind. Every time they were in relatively close quarters with each other, she had weeks of fantasies about him. She expected those fantasies to be far more vivid.

What she had not expected was the sickness. Every morning, she woke with terrible nausea; sometimes to the point of throwing up. She always felt better afterward, but it had taken weeks for her to convince herself she needed a check up.

When Amberlyn examined her, the questions started coming: When was her last period? (She couldn't remember, despite everything happening like clockwork most of her life.) Had she started craving anything in particular, or felt repulsed by food? (She could no longer stand chocolate, but was craving strawberries, which were out of season.) Had she felt the need for frequent urination? (She felt like her bladder had shrunk to the size of a thimble.) Had she been intimate with anyone? (She blushed and refused to answer.)

Amberlyn had simply stared at her, hand over mouth until she admitted it, though she could not bring herself to tell her who she had been with. She wouldn't understand. None of them would.

She barely understood it herself.

She pulled herself from the door and walked across the room to look over the ledgers and plans. She had other things to think about, matters more pressing. The meeting had not held good news. Things would have to wait. The child would wait. Explanations could wait a while at least.

Yami could wait.

She still had no idea how she was going to tell him. He had been quite adamant about their escapade being, well, not meaningless, but nothing serious either. She tried to look at the reports on her squads recent missions, but she couldn't focus.

If he hadn't been serious, she thought, why had he sent her the rose?

She pushed her sleeve back and ran her fingers over the thin strip of black fabric knotted about her wrist. She hadn't taken it off since she found it wound around the sharp thorns on the blue rose she found on her desk a few days after the incident. She looked at the frayed edge, rubbing her fingers over the fibers.

She had to tell him. And she would, once she figured out how.


	2. Chapter 2

Charlotte looked up at the ceiling above her bed and sighed in frustration. She hated her life right now. She hated being pregnant. Every day was the same, starting with sickness and then exhaustion all day, but as soon as she tried to go to sleep, her mind raced and her energy peaked, as if the child within her was drawn to the darkness. She snorted in annoyance. Of course it was, she though, once more feeling disgust and disappointment with herself for giving into him.

She sighed and tried to close her eyes. She turned onto her side and tucked her pillow between her head and arm. Amberlyn had told her sleeping on her left side was best for both her and the child. She had to admit, the uncomfortable weight pressing down on her back was lifted a bit when she rolled over, but it did little to still her mind. She tried to steady her breathing and will sleep to come. But she ended up on her back once more, staring at the ceiling, Julius' voice echoing through her mind.

"I don't want to tell him." she hissed in response, knowing it was a lie. She hadn't quite figured out how to tell him. She couldn't just come right out and say it, could she? After all, it had taken her years to admit to him or anyone else how she felt about him. And even then, she had never expected anything to come of it.

"I'm being ridiculous." She said to herself, as the constant roundabout argument played over once more in her head. In the few days since she had spoken to Julius, the frequency of the mental discussion only intensified. She had to make a decision soon. She had to act soon. The only two people who knew about it were right; It was only a matter of time whether she wanted them to or not.

She tried laying on the other side, once more tucking the pillow beneath her head and neck. Closing her eyes, she felt herself relax into the early stages of sleep. Finally...

Until thoughts of him sprang to her mind.

"Dammit."

She huffed and rolled onto her back once more. A few days had passed since the meeting and the last time she had seen him, the first time since she had found out. Before then, she hadn't seen him for weeks, not since the cave when they... She blushed thinking about it. Her skin tingled and she felt a rush of desire. She was used to not seeing him for weeks, even months at a time. The lack of proximity had always made things easier to handle, to ignore. She would forget about him for a while, until she saw him again. Then she was desperate for him for a few days, sometimes a week, and then the feeling would fade. She had found pleasure in her imaginings of him, guessing at what being with him would be like. But eventually, even the desire to imagine would go away.

But now... now she had a crystal clear image of what she was missing, she could not shake her longing. Her body betrayed her, demanding satisfaction nearly every night since then. Amberlyn had said she might experience heightened arousal as the pregnancy progressed, but Charlotte had rarely had a night since then when she wasn't horny as fuck and did not have to service herself. She chastised herself for the crassness of her thoughts, before giving in to them.

She closed her eyes and ran her hand down her skin, imagining his breath against her ear, his lips against her neck, his fingertips on her flesh. She tried, desperately, to bring herself to the heights of her pleasure. Despite success, she still felt frustrated in so many ways. She curled up on her side once more, forcing her eyes closed, running the list of requisitions she needed to make in the morning. She hoped and prayed for relief and a restful sleep, but what she got instead were tears.

She sat up, wiping the offending droplets from her cheeks, angry at their gall to spill from her eyes.

She had to tell him.

She didn't want to tell him.

She was scared to tell him.

She was mad she was so scared.

She wiped new tears from her cheeks as she swung her legs out of the bed. Slipping on a pair of slippers, she padded softly for the door. She buckled her grimoire around her waist. Over the thin nightgown, the belt hung lower on her hips. She shifted the band, unaccustomed to its weight pressing so low on her body.

"Guess I'll have to get used to it."

She would have to get used to a great many accommodations to her life soon.

She peeked out the door from her room into the hall. The building was quiet, as she expected of the dormitory wing. She crept through the building until she was able to procure a broom. She hated using them for transport, but her magic did not lend itself to creating a vehicle for her to use. Well, not one which would be faster than the broom. And she did not want to explain where she was going to anyone, leaving teleportation out of the question.

Besides, Amberlyn had warned her against using teleportation magic for the time being.

Another thing to get used to.

She mounted the broom and took quickly to the air. The cool night currents soothed her burning skin and eased her desire. She contemplated circling back home and leaving the folly of an idea behind, as she looked at the land speeding beneath her. She was feeling better, more calm as she flew. She turned the broom in a lazy circle, intent on going back the way she had come.

But the uneasy feeling hit her once more. She sighed, turning the broom back again.

She had to tell him.

Before too long, she found herself circling over the slap-shod building which served as his squad's headquarters. She knew he had chosen the building himself; it was as rough around the edges as he was, as mismatched as those he had recruited. She chastised herself once more for falling for him, for letting her guard down, for giving in to her desire.

She drifted lower to the ground and stepped lightly onto the surface before what she assumed as the front of the building. No lights shone from the windows, nor did anyone seem to be on guard. She sighed, thankful not to identify herself.

"If no one answers, I'll just leave." She told herself, clutching the broom like a scared little girl. She forced herself to loosen her grip, to relax. She reminded herself she was no longer eighteen and she had waited nearly ten years to admit and act on her feelings. His voice from all those years ago echoed in her mind.

"I like strong women."

She took a deep breath, determined to be the strong woman she was.

She knocked on the door.

Silence.

She knocked again.

Nothing.

She knocked a third time.

Still nothing.

She sighed, relieved. She turned to go.

As she mounted the broom, light bloomed behind her. She froze. A voice called to her from the door-male, but not his, one of his underlings. She steeled herself before turning back to the door.

"I need to speak to your captain." She mustered as much authority as she could. The young man at the door looked at her skeptically before a flicker of recognition passed over his face. Charlotte realized she had seen him before-green shirt, floppy brown hair, the spatial mage who had gotten them all back to Nairn after the battle with the Third Eye. She had hoped no one would recognized her in such a state.

"Um, the captain's asleep and I sort of like, you know, living..."

"Go wake him." She pushed passed him through the door.

The interior of the building was as haphazard as the exterior. Several people lay sprawled on various pieces of furniture, surrounded by empty plates or bottles. The sight was as different from her own squad building as it could possibly be, but it was not exactly unexpected. In many ways, what she saw was less extreme than she had imagined.

Still, she did not see him.

She turned to the only other conscious being in the room. He leaned heavily against the wall, barely awake. She glared at him. She hadn't wanted to use her magic against him, but her mood was a shifty as the wind. She acted out in anger and surrounded the young mage with her briars.

"Go, wake him." She said once more.

"Fine. Just let me go. And you better send flowers to my funeral, because he is going to kill me."

She withdrew the vines and watched the young man disappear down a hallway on the other side of the room. She walked around the room, reluctant to sit, looking at the few squad members gathered. Most of them looked drunk, and she no longer had to wonder how they had gained their reputation. A booming voice echoed through the building, yet no one in the room stirred at the sound, much to Charlotte's shock. A few seconds later, he appeared in the doorway across the room.

She wanted to run to him, to throw herself in his arms. She told herself she would stay calm, collected, but the next thing she knew, she was on the other side of the room with his arms around her.

"Charlotte?" He still seemed only half awake. Despite herself, she sobbed into his chest. He laid his head on top of hers and stroked the ends of her hair as it spilled over her shoulders. "What's wrong, Charlotte?"

She could only cry.

He led her from the common room down the hallway she had seen the spatial mage-she couldn't remember his name for her life-had gone down. He pulled her into a small, spartan room and sat her on a thin mat on the floor before lighting the lamp. The room was simple and mostly devoid of the furniture one might associate with a bedroom. Nearly everything was low to the ground, though very little was on the floor itself. The few items in the room were tidy and precisely arranged, stored at various heights along the wall. He knelt down on the floor, sitting back on his heels, and looked at her. He brushed his thumb along her cheek, wiping away the tears still falling from her eyes. His fingers splayed across her neck. He leaned toward her and kissed her forehead.

"What's wrong?" He asked again, this time fully awake.

"I..."

She couldn't tell him.

"I missed you."

It was true enough. She had missed him; she couldn't stop thinking about him. It wasn't exactly a lie, but neither was it what she needed to say. He gave her a sleepy smile.

"I've missed you, too." He moved onto the mat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Come here." He laid down, pulling her down next to him. He held her close as he wrapped his body around hers and she nestled in next to him.

Within no time at all, Charlotte felt the exhaustion in her body finally overtake the activity in her mind. The tingling in her skin, the longing in her soul quieted as she drifted to sleep in his arms.

* * *

Yami hated when he was woken up unexpectedly. Finral knew it; everyone knew it. And everyone avoided doing so at all costs. Which meant when someone did risk waking him, they had a damn good reason. All he had been able to make out as he sat up was "Visitor", "Demanding", and "Captain". Yami had half a mind to let whoever had dropped by unannounced in the middle of the fucking night wait as long as he damn well pleased. But he knew exactly zero Magic Knight Captains who would make the effort to come out to his base for a social call. Whoever had shown up, well, they had to have a good reason.

He never expected it to be her at his door. He blinked a couple of times in an effort to see if he was in fact still asleep. After each time, she was still there. And suddenly, she was in his arms. He didn't remember seeing her move, but he drew her into him as she came close.

He called her name, still wondering if he were dreaming. She felt so nice in his arms, he was sure he had made the whole experience up. No other woman had ever felt like her. He pressed his cheek against her head. She smelled amazing. He did not realize she was crying until he felt the sobbing against his chest.

"What's wrong, Charlotte?"

She did not answer him. She only cried. He took a deep breath as he looked around the room. His hand traced her spine while he searched for an empty spot. The common room was a mess, and he did not want to risk one of his idiots waking up on him while she was there. He especially did not want any of them to see her crying, for her sake. He refused to be responsible for destroying her reputation.

The only place he knew they would not be disturbed was his room. He hesitated a moment, thinking she might take offense, but he had no choice. He led her to the small room he had made his own. The room was larger than most of the others, but only barely. He was certain the girls had taken all of the best rooms, but he did not really care. The small cell suited him well, most of the time. He worried what she might think of it. He sighed, completely awake by the time he sat her down on his bed. Her face was streaked with tears which glistened in the dim lamplight. She looked exhausted.

"What's wrong?" He asked again.

When she answered, he knew she was lying, or omitting something rather. She did miss him. And he missed her too. But her loneliness was not what drove her to him this night. Something else was going on; something about her had changed, subtly. He couldn't tell what exactly as he pulled her down with him into the bed. Holding her close against his body stirred up his desire. He doubted she would be interested as she had fallen asleep as soon as her head was pillowed against his arm.

He lay there in the dark quiet, listening to her breath, feeling the weight of her against him. He never did shit like this, he told himself. He wasn't the comforting type. While he didn't have Finral's reputation for pursuing the ladies, he had had his fair share of broken hearts in his youth, times when he was interested in a quick roll in the hay, but they had wanted, had expected more from him.

Julius had often scolded him for such behavior, but he didn't care. Not until the day Julius had put everything together, not until he finally put it together himself.

He kissed the top of her head and held her tightly, burying his face in her soft hair. His body relaxed and he felt the strong pull of sleep as he was lulled by her steady breathing.

He hated how Julius had been right.

* * *

"Yami!" The voice called down the hall. He wanted to keep walking. He didn't want to talk about it, he didn't want to listen. He wanted to leave.

But he knew his captain would only make things difficult, force him to stay and poke and prod until he learned what he wanted to know. Yami sighed, his shoulders sagging as he turned to face the music.

Julius was angry. More angry than Yami had ever seen him. His ineffable smile was gone, replaced by a scowl more suited for his own face, Yami thought.

"What the hell are you doing? Do you know how many concerned fathers I've had to deal with this month?" The questions flew at him like daggers.

Yep, Julius was pissed.

The Captain of the Azure Dear Squad grabbed his subordinate by the ear and dragged him into the office at the end of the hall. Julius tossed him into a chair, demonstrating a strength hidden in his stature, before leaning heavily on the desk. He looked up at the ceiling, sighed and then rubbed his hands over his face.

"Yami, what's going on? This isn't like you. You haven't been acting right since your birthday."

He refused to meet his commander's eyes.

"I mean, I know you've gone out with young women before, but this? You're taking every opportunity to find a different girl, or at least it seems that way. I thought nothing of it while you stuck to commoners, but the past couple of weeks you've been going after noblewomen? You know you can't."

"Why?"

Julius looked at him. He had touched a nerve and he knew it.

"Why can't I? Who the fuck cares if a girl is a noble or not? If she's into me, into messing around, why should I care about her station?"

It was an argument they had had several times before, only with a different spin. Julius had tried repeatedly to get the class system through the young man's thick skull. To say Yami was resistant to the idea was an understatement.

"I mean, it was all in fun anyway."

"The girls apparently didn't think so. You didn't make them any promises you couldn't keep, did you?"

"Hell no."

"Good. And um, please tell you were, you know, safe?" Julius had broached the question uncomfortably.

"Define 'safe'." Yami jibbed, a sarcastic quirk to his lips and a mischievous glint in his eye. He knew his mentor had an aversion to discussing the more physical aspects of life. In fact, Julius pretty much had an aversion to talking about anything that wasn't magic.

"You know what I mean. If any of them end up... well, there will be hell to pay and it's going to come out of both of our hides."

Yami laughed.

"Don't worry."

Julius let out a long breath, relieved, at least in part.

"You still haven't told me why. What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on." Yami crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm bored. I haven't had a decent mission since... well, since you sent me out to take care of those bandits on my birthday."

"If you're bored, find a hobby."

"Fuckin's a hobby."

"Yami."

The younger mage rolled his eyes.

"This isn't about the other thing that happened, is it? The thing that happened after your birthday?"

Yami froze. He clenched his jaw. He knew exactly what Julius was talking about—the incident with the heir to House Roselei. He took a deep breath before turning his brown eyes to his superior.

"No. It isn't." But he knew better. Her face had haunted him since the briars faded from around her that day. Something about her had crawled under his skin.

Julius watched him for a long moment, expecting more, hoping for something Yami couldn't give.

"Try to control yourself. Please. If you can, I'll see what I can do to get you a mission." He said as he realized Yami would not be any more forthcoming.

"Fine."

A few days later, Yami had been sent out with a couple of members of other squads to investigate rumors of a group fomenting rebellion against the crown. Julius had assured him it would be an exciting and important job, but he had his doubts. All of the knights on the team were younger; the oldest only one year his senior, though they did answer to senior members of the investigation team. The team was paired off into two person cells, some of which were to go undercover.

He was ordered to infiltrate one of the groups, told his size and strength could be used to an advantage to get placed as a bodyguard. He was not surprised by the assignment. He knew his reputation for fighting proceeded him. He excelled at it, so what better role to play?

What did surprise him, was when she was assigned as his partner-Charlotte Roselei.

He knew of her, of course. Everyone did. She was the Thorn Maiden, whose tongue was as sharp as her briars, who would succumb to no man who was weaker than her, who thought all men were weaker than she was.

He looked at her and she rolled her eyes in disgust. The look was familiar, as most nobles looked at him with some level of disdain, but on her face it was especially painful.

He more than knew of her, though he tried to forget the last time they had met. He had stumbled across her in the throes of disaster as her magic ran rampant and out of control. He had been told later she had been cursed, and he had somehow stopped it. No one would tell him how. He suspected Julius knew, and had somehow arranged for him to be in the right place at the right time. Julius was weird like that. But he had no proof, except the curse being broken. Looking at her now, he wondered if Julius' had was also at play. He wouldn't put it past the time mage.

When he walked over to her, she tried her best to avoid looking at him.

"Lady Charlotte." He said formally, as he knew most nobles preferred it when a commoner such as himself addressed them. "I guess we'll be working together."

"So we've been ordered." She was frigid, her eyes like ice, as they had been weeks ago when he had first stumbled upon her tangled among her briars. She was still beautiful, breath-taking in fact. He hadn't wanted to admit it, not to Julius, not to himself, but he wanted her. All those nights he had spent with the daughters of other noble houses, he realized now seeing her again, he had spent them wishing they all were her. She received the details of their orders and began reviewing with him as they tried to work out a game plan.

Things had gone well for the first couple of days, and then all hell broke loose. He had been guarding the door at a meeting when the boss had turned on Charlotte; someone had blown her cover. He could have let Charlotte handle things herself. He should have let her. He knew she was more than capable of taking out the room as a whole, having witnessed her power firsthand. He would have-had they not relieved her of her grimoire already.

But as the man grinned at her, his mind went blank and he acted. He used the time the boss spent baiting her, mocking her to weave his magic around the room. He wished he had his sword, but the blade had been forbidden to him on the mission. The entire group was so focused on her they did not notice him. Their intentions were obvious, plainly written on their faces. The energy in the room had turned malicious; their faces hungered for power over the smaller woman. She glared at the gang's boss in defiance, unaware, or refusing to acknowledge their next course of action.

As the boss grabbed at her, pushing her down to her knees, Yami disarmed the other guard. The sword he now held was heavy, far heavier than his katana.

The ring leader forced her head back and towered over her.

Yami swung the sword in a wide arc, infusing it with his dark magic. The magic-enhanced blade tore through the air, and through the vile man's throat without a thought. Blood sprayed from the wound, marring her pale hair and skin.

Charlotte lunged for the table behind the dead man, retrieving her grimoire and bolting for the door. Yami sliced through a few more of the rebels in their way as he followed her. He dropped the heavy sword before he took off down the alleyway after her.

"Are you stupid?" She yelled at him as she stopped to catch her breath a few streets away. "I could have handled them. Now you've blown both of our covers."

She was covered in blood and sweat and smelled of fear and rage. He wanted to give her a piece of his mind, but voices down the alley yelled at them to stop and blasts of fire magic erupted around them.

"Run." He said before sprinting between the buildings. She stood her ground and conjured a wall of briars. Realizing she was not following him, Yami turned back, grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him. He wove between the buildings, trying to provide as confusing a path as possible. She protested the entire time.

"Shut up." He said with labored breath, as he pulled her into an alcove in the side of a building. Her briar wall had slowed their pursuers only a little, and her complaining had kept them hot on their tail. If he had time, he could use his magic to darken their hiding spot, to cloak them in shadows. If he had the time.

But their hunters were far too close for comfort. They turned one corner, then another. He could hear people they had dodged complaining as the group of pursuers plowed into them, disrupting their night, or toppled the market stalls that were their source of income. One corner more...

Yami pushed Charlotte further back into the alcove and pressed her against the wall, shielding her with his own body, his own shadow. He knew from behind, he could be mistaken for any average commoner, but she, with her obvious noble bearing, her stunning beauty... she stood out.

But being so close to her messed with his head.

He kissed her.

He told himself it was part of the act, part of the disguise... a pair of lovers hiding in the shadows was easy enough to overlook. The voices pursuing them, the pounding feet ran past and disappeared into the distance.

She stiffened, shocked. And then she yielded.

Not only did she yield, she returned the kiss with a desperation he hadn't thought possible.

Her lips tasted like blood as his tongue darted between them.

And she let him.

And she answered.

He pulled away, looking at her face. She seemed angelic, despite the smears of a dead man's blood drying on her cheek and in her hair. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted, her cheeks flushed. He started to lean in to kiss her again when he felt the sting in his cheek as she struck him.

Looking at her again, he met the perfect mixture of fire and ice in her glaring eyes.

"Ok. I deserved that."

"Damn right you did."

Not quite a day later, he stood once more in Julius' office. They had been removed from the project as soon as they walked into headquarters. She had gone back to her own squad, but he could not get the feel of her against him out of his mind.

"You weren't supposed to kill him." Julius didn't even look up from the book he was scribbling in.

"Yeah? Well, I wasn't too keen on watching them rape her either."

He looked up then. He put down his pencil and closed the book. He folded his hands as he leaned on the desk.

"Tell me everything, Yami."

"Tch. What are you even doing here anyway? Isn't there some unknown magic for you to discover somewhere?"

"Tell me what happened."

Yami plopped into the chair across the desk from him, crossed his arms and launched into the tale.

"Anything else?" Julius asked as Yami wrapped up the details of their escape.

Yami's eyes darted around the room quickly.

"I, um, I kissed her." he whispered.

"What?" Julius said, excitement creeping into his voice.

"She slapped me."

Julius opened the book once more and scribbled something. Yami licked his lips at the memory.

"I didn't want to stop."

Julius grinned.

"So it was about her."

Yami sighed and covered his eyes with his hand. As he rubbed his hand over his face, he felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner, for not admitting to himself. He wanted her. The more he thought about it, the more he realized it was true.

"Yeah. I guess."

* * *

Looking at her sleep now, her back pressed against him, her face peaceful, he wondered if she remembered the alley and his stolen kiss. He brushed his fingers through her hair and kissed her temple before settling down next to her and letting sleep take him as well.

* * *

Charlotte's eyes fluttered open as the early morning light filtered through the window. The angle was off, she thought as she turned onto her back, only to be blocked by something. She scooted over and finished the rotation only to meet his face. She looked at him, disoriented for a moment. She sat up, observing her surroundings, and realized she must have been in his room. She chewed on the skin around her thumbnail trying to remember how and when she got there. He muttered something as he turned over in his sleep, but she could not make out what he said. She slipped her fingers through his unruly hair and leaned over to kiss his cheek when the nausea hit.

She sat up and closed her eyes, trying to push back the wave of uneasiness in her belly. She covered her mouth with her hand and tapped him with the other one.

He stirred grumpily.

"What?" he muttered as he sat up.

"Bathroom." She whispered, forcing herself to her hands and knees. Her breathing was fast, labored, as she tried to hold back the nausea. He gave her directions and she took off in a flash. She reached the bathroom just before the vomit broke through her defenses. She hovered over the toilet, having emptied the contents of her stomach into it, waiting to see if anything else would find its way up. She sat back onto the ground and laid her head against the wall.

"Are you alright?" His voice echoed in the small room.

She nodded.

"Just feeling a little sick to my stomach. What time is it?"

"A little after dawn, I think."

"I need to go." She stood and tried to push past him.

"No."

She looked up at him with a ferocity reminiscent of the look she had given him after the stolen kiss so many years ago.

"What do you mean, 'no'?"

"I'm not letting you leave until you tell me why you flew," he stressed the word. "Flew here in the middle of the night."

"I..." She took a deep breath.

She had to tell him.

She looked up at his face, all stern and bordering on angry.

"I told you. I missed you."

He looked up at the ceiling in exasperation, sighing loudly. He didn't believe her, but he held a hand out to her and helped her to her feet.

She could not meet his eyes.

But as he pulled her into his arms, she felt herself relax against him. She didn't want to relax. If she did, she might slip.

"I missed you, too. I've missed you for months, Charlotte." He whispered into her ear before kissing her cheek. He held her shoulders away from him and looked her square in the eyes.

"I also know you're lying."

She swallowed hard under the weight of his gaze.

"I'm pregnant." The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could talk herself out of telling him. She sighed in relief, feeling as if an oppressive weight had been lifted from her chest.

He blinked once, twice. He twitched as if a shiver had gone down his spine before blinking and shaking his head as if to clear it.

"What?"

"I'm pregnant."

He shivered once more.

"How?"

"Yami. You know how." She said, on the verge of laughter.

"Right, no, yeah, I..." He stumbled over his words.

"Breath." She suggested.

He took a deep breath.

"Wow."

"You're mad."

"What? No." He caressed her neck, brushed his thumb over her cheek. She closed her eyes as she leaned into the touch. "I'm not mad in the least." He kissed her forehead. "I think we need to talk, but perhaps the toilet isn't the best place to do that?"

She chuckled.

"Right."

He pulled her into a brief but tight embrace before he looked down the hall. Luck was standing next to the door.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I... I thought there was a line?"

"Go." Yami's voice seemed to shake the walls. The young lightning mage scurried back down the hall. Yami watched him disappear as he stepped away from the door.

"Who was that?" Charlotte asked with panic in her voice.

"Someone with a death wish if he runs his mouth."


	3. Chapter 3

Finral stretched his arms over his head feeling quite good about the day. Only when he walked into the common room and already saw the rest of the squad up and going about their own business did he feel something was off. He stopped and watched as Magna chased Luck around the room because the lightning mage had done something, anything to piss off the fire mage. Vanessa was already a couple bottles deep into her daily rations and Charmy looked to be on third breakfast. Asta was no where to be found, which was typical as the young knight usually spent his mornings training in the woods when he did not have a mission needing his attention. And he could never quite figure out what Noelle did when she wasn't in the room bossing people around. Gauche had been given leave to visit his sister, and Gray and Gordon seemed to be locked head to head in a game of some sort.

Finral knit his brows together as he watched the scene unfolding before him, feeling something was very wrong. He was typically the first one up, well, after Yami anyway. The captain usually woke him to perform some inane task, like send him to the bathroom or pick up his paper, or some other waste of his talent as a spatial mage.

Looking around now, though, Finral noticed Yami was no where to be found. Now he understood why he felt so well-rested.

"Hey, where's Yami?" He tried to get the attention of one of the other Bulls. Any one of the others, he didn't really care which.

"I dunno." Magna answered before launching a stream of obscenities to go with the fire balls he shot at Luck.

"He's here." Luck answered. "I saw him earlier, with some woman."

"Woman?" Finral asked before the memory came back to him. He had awoken in his bed and he was fairly certain he hadn't fallen asleep there. He must have gone to his room after he let her in.

"Yeah, I couldn't see much, except that she was a she and she was blond." Luck skillfully dodged Magna's attacks. "She seemed sick though. I mean, she was in the bathroom and Yami was talking to her about something. I thought there was a line."

"We really need to get another couple of bathrooms." Finral complained, thinking of how one of the facilities was nearly always occupied by their fearless leader. Frankly, Finral didn't quite understand how anyone could shit for that long.

"Yeah, well, Yami told me he'd kill me if I told anyone..." Luck said as he bounced around the room before skidding to a stop. "Oh, shit." Magna took the opportunity to land a hit on the faster mage.

"Haha! Gotcha!" Magna shouted triumphantly.

"Keep it down, will ya?" Vanessa whined as she rubbed her head.

"Luck, are you sure he's still here? And what about this woman?"

"Woman? What woman?" Vanessa asked with sudden interest, her hangover forgotten for a moment. She winced with the movement.

"Well, I didn't see either of them leave. At least not through here."

Finral frowned. He looked down the hallway toward Yami's room.

"I guess they're still in there." He watched the door with a furrowed brow. Unless some sort of door had opened up no one else knew about (which give the base's penchant to rearrange itself, was entirely possible), anyone coming from Yami's room would have to pass the common room. As he stared at the door, Finral felt a growing sense of curiosity building within him.

Luck peaked around the door frame to also look at the large door at the end of the hall.

"I wonder what they're doing."

Finral looked at him and cocked his eyebrow. With Luck's focus on fighting all the time, it was easy to forget how young and naive the lightning mage could be.

"Well, if he has a woman in his room, that's his business." Vanessa said with an angry tone to her voice as she sat back down at the bar and popped open another bottle. Charmy snored where she had passed out in a food coma.

"I'm going to go find out." Finral squared his shoulders, knowing the decision could very well lead to his death. He tiptoed down the hallway to the heavy wooden door and pressed his ear against it. After a moment, Luck and Magna joined him. The voices were surprisingly easy to hear through the wooden barrier. He could distinctly hear Yami's voice, and another more feminine one.

"Were you even going to tell me?" Yami asked, his tone a cross between anger and impatience.

"Yes." The woman countered with an equally harsh tone before backpedaling. "No, maybe. I don't know. It's not like you wouldn't have found out anyway."

"That's not the point. You should have told me. I shouldn't have had to find out this way."

An exasperated breath.

"Why did you come here, Charlotte?" Yami's voice still held an edge to it, but had calmed a bit. The way he said her name, Finral thought it sounded like a prayer.

Finral's eyes grew wide as his speculation was confirmed. He wondered what the Blue Rose captain had kept from Yami.

"What?" he whispered partly to himself, partly to his two companions.

"I..." She sighed. "I was going to tell you." Her voice had softened. "That was my plan anyway, but... I don't know, once I got here, I..." Her voice trailed off.

Silence filled the air for a long period. Finral could only speculate what filled it on the other side of the door. Slowly, he could hear the sound of whispering, though he couldn't make out what was being said. Another period of silence stretched on, and then the door opened.

"What the fuck are you three doing?" Yami's large form filled the doorway. Finral, Luck, and Magna looked up at their captain riddled with guilt. The look in Yami's eyes was murderous and the three young men scattered down the hall.

Once they were safely back in the common room, Finral collapsed on the couch. Magna and Luck joined him.

"So, uh, that was Charlotte Roselei in the captain's room, right?" Magna asked.

"I believe it was." Finral answered, his brain working overtime to piece the bits of information together.

"Why was she in a nightgown?" Luck asked. Finral looked over at him, thinking someone really needed to teach the fighter about the birds and the bees.

"Do you think they were, you know...?" Magna slipped his glasses down his nose and looked from Luck to Finral over the top of their rims. Luck tilted his head and looked back confused.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time." Finral said without thinking. He was met with Magna's wide eyed, questioning stare.

"How come I've never heard about this?"

"Shit." Finral sighed, knowing he too was going to be on the chopping block.

\\*\\*\\*

"What was that?" Charlotte asked, craning her neck in an attempt to see through the door as Yami closed it.

"Eavesdroppers. Don't worry, I'll kill them later." Yami's voice was tight with tension. Charlotte certainly didn't want this secret to get out, but she also didn't think it was worth killing people over.

"I really did mean to tell you." She sighed, returning to her cross-legged position as he knelt on the mat he called a bed. "That's why I came."

"But I had to find out when you were throwing up in my toilet. Dammit, Charlotte. Haven't I told you something about trusting people before? Why is it so difficult for you to get through your beautiful, but thick skull? Huh?"

"You, you think I'm beautiful?" She seemed shocked the the admission.

"Well, yeah." He looked at her as if she had asked if the sky were blue or grass were green or if he smoked too much (He knew he did, but he didn't care to stop). But the look on her face shocked him, like she had never had anyone call her beautiful to her face, or if she had, she had never believed them. He leaned forward and ran a hand through the blond hair which framed her face in flat sheets. He pulled her lips to his, touching them softly before pressing his forehead against hers.

"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." He sat back and looked at her. "And I still can't believe that I've, that you're, that we've... I can't believe I can't say it now." He looked at the ground between them. Charlotte watched every nervous movement of his face, the twitch of his eyebrow, the quirk of is lip. She smiled as she saw what she thought was a light blush spreading on his cheeks. She wasn't sure, she was never sure, because his skin wasn't as much of a filthy traitor as her own with its coloring.

"Fucked, Yami. We fucked."

"Oh yes we did."

Their eyes met, and they both knew what they had done was much more than fuck.

Yami wanted to lay her down and fuck her again. No, he corrected himself, explore her is a better term. He sighed, knowing he was far too gone, knowing part of him belonged to her now. He ran his fingers through her hair again as she turned to look at the door.

"Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag now." She said. He could hear the worry in her voice.

"It will be fine. Actually, Finral already knew."

She turned to him with a look of shock.

"What?"

"Don't worry, he's good with secrets. He, uh, actually, he found us in the cave."

Charlotte's face took on a shade of green and she clutched her belly and squeezed her eyes shut.

"He saw us?"

"Like I said, he's good with secrets. Well, he's afraid I'll kill him, so..."

"You really do intimidate everyone, don't you?" She shook her head in disbelief. He ran his fingers through her hair again. His fingertips landed lightly on her cheek.

"I don't intimidate you." The way he said he sounded so sure of himself, but when she met his eyes once more, they were full of questions and uncertainty.

"No." She placed her hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes at the touch. "No you don't." She ran her thumb over his lips before drawing them to her. "You are a completely different animal with me." She kissed him lightly, then waited.

"Oh, really." His eyes were closed as he pulled her on top of him. She tucked herself into his arms as she slipped next to him. "I can be any animal you want me to be, Charlotte."

He kissed her again, though this time it was less sweet. She met him with a desperation she hated admitting she felt.

"There was another reason I came here." She said breathless between kisses.

"Oh?"

She pushed him onto his back, straddling him. Her hands ran over his bare chest, lightly scratching him with her short, well manicured nails.

"Oh." He grinned as his hands slipped underneath her short nightgown and over her thighs. "Well, why didn't you say so?"

"Needed sleep first." She leaned forward and kissed him, trapping him in a cage of her hair. She wanted to tell him more, to say what had been pressing against her heart and her mind since the cave, since he had given her the rose filled with their memories, but the words refused to come. His hands slipped over her hips and she shivered as his fingers gripped her waist.

"Are you still sleepy?" His voice was low and deep. He stole a kiss as her face hovered over his. A wide grin spread over her lips.

"Not in the least." She kissed him deeply as he pulled her nightgown over her head. A draft in the room chilled her skin. He rolled her onto her back, and propped himself up on his elbow looking down at her. His fingertips traced lazily along her skin, starting by brushing the hair from her face as she also balanced herself onto her side, head resting on her hand in a similar fashion. She giggled as his light touch brushed her neck, tickling her before they continued on down her arm.

"What are you doing?" The giggles still tinged her voice as she looked at his serious face.

"Learning."

"Learning?" She chuckled.

"Yep." He interlaced his fingers through her free hand. He brought their hands up to his lips and kissed her knuckles. She chuckled again.

"Learning what?"

"Everything." He put her hand back on her hips and let it go as he brushed her thigh. He ran his fingers up across her belly and pressed his hand against it, his fingers spread wide. He thought he could feel something there, a little spark of something new, an energy he had never felt before, well, not so distinctly. He had felt something different with Charlotte the day before, when she had spoken to Julius. The feeling was why he had lingered. He missed her and wanted to see her again, but he had been living with his longing for her for a long time, much longer than he cared to admit. He also knew the feeling was not based on his desire. He closed his eyes, concentrating all of his senses on her-the sound of her breathing, the smell of her, the feel of her skin beneath his hand, the slight movement as she adjusted herself on the thin mat beneath them.

The feeling was still there, energy emanating from her belly, her womb.

"So, we're going to have a child." His voice was soft and filled with awe. She laid her hand over his.

"Yeah." Her voice shook slightly as she caressed the back of his hand. She slipped her hand from beneath her head and tucked herself against him.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know. Sometimes I wonder how anyone could bring a child into this world. I mean, things are pretty crazy right now."

He brushed his hand through her hair before he wrapped his arms around her.

"It's not like we can go back and change this now, Charlotte. Besides, if we waited until the world got unfucked, we would be waiting for a very long time." He kissed the top of her head.

"I guess that's true." She rolled onto her back, her head pillowed on his arm, one hand resting on her belly. He put his hand over hers.

"You thought about it though, didn't you? Ending this." His thumb drew circles on the back of her hand. She nodded. She felt the pressure of tears building in her eyes. He kissed her head once more.

"Please don't." His plea was soft and sad, and when she met his eyes, she thought he looked as vulnerable as she had ever seen him. She smiled at him in an effort to reassure him.

"Okay."

He kissed her fully, passionately as his hand which covered hers slipped further down her body, through the lawn of soft blond hair to her sex. She gasped as his calloused fingers pressed against her.

"This is alright, yeah? I can still fuck you, right?"

She looked at him with knitted brows.

"Of course you can."

"I mean with the baby, and all."

"If you couldn't, my entire life right now would be one cruel joke, Yami, since all I've wanted for the last several days was for you to do just that."

He chuckled before he covered her body with his.

A couple of hours later, Yami woke to the tingling pain of her head pressing against his arm weirdly. Noises throughout the building made him groan and wonder what was going on. His imagination only made him worry more. He slipped his arm from beneath her head as gently as he could, hoping he would not wake her. She stirred briefly before settling back to sleep. He brushed his fingers over her face and through her hair and was rewarded with a sleepy smile and peaceful look on her face. He wanted to wake up with her like this forever. He wished he could curl up next to her again, but a crash in another room demanded his attention. He sighed as he pulled himself away from the warmth of her body. He quickly threw on his pants after picking up a pair from the floor and sniffing it to make sure it was a clean pair, well, clean-ish, anyway. He pulled a shirt over his head but didn't bother donning his robe.

Another crash, another sigh, and he lit a cigarette. The first drag tasted delicious-as good as the food Charmy's chefs could cook up, almost as good as Her kisses. The filter was firm between his lips, familiar and comfortable. His mind calmed as he exhaled, blotting out the sounds of chaos echoing down the hall. He glanced back at Charlotte asleep in his bed. The cigarette soothed his worry almost as much as Her touch.

Something else crashed in the distance.

He groaned, took another slow drag, put on his boots and went to put an end to the insanity, at least for a while.

He pictured what he would find as he walked down the hallway and was disappointed to see he had been right. The entire common room was in a shambles and half of the team were in a state unfit for duty. The other half was nowhere to be found.

"Hey." He called loudly, garnering the attention of those who could actually attend. "What the hell is going on?"

Luck and Magna immediately stopped their fighting. Vanessa raised her head slightly before letting it fall back to the table and Charmy stopped with a drumstick midway to her mouth.

"Whose that woman, Boss?" Luck asked, trying to force an admission of some sort.

"I could ask you the same thing. About what's going on.." Finral, who was seated on the couch next to the doorway Yami stood in, said as he flipped through the newspaper looking for nearby social events he might be able to weasel his way into.

"You two sure were talking for quite some time." Magna noted. "Or were you... you know." He looked over at Luck and the pair of them started giggling.

"What are you, twelve?" Yami looked at the younger men.

The dynamic duo immediately stopped their laughter.

"Wait, Yami has a woman in his room?" Charmy asked from the other side of the table.

Yami pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I'm surrounded by fucking children." he muttered. "Yes, I have a woman in my room. I can do that, and do you know why?"

"Because you're the boss?"Luck suggested.

"No, because I'm a fucking adult." He practically yelled, before glaring at all of them.

They looked at him in fear until he closed his eyes and took another deep drag on the cigarette pressed between his lips. As he sucked in the smoke, he could feel some of his ire fading away. They were all so broken in their own way, he guessed none of them-aside from Finral anyway-ever really put much thought into their personal lives or companionship. He sighed on the exhale, releasing a cloud of smoke in their general directions.

"So, what were you two talking about?" Finral asked, his eyes fixed on the paper before him. "You sounded pretty angry about her not telling you something."

Yami gritted his teeth.

"Our discussion is none of you damn business."

"What's her name, Boss?" Luck asked, knowing the answer, but wanting to hear Yami say it.

"Also none of your business." Yami said, walking over to the bar where Vanessa lay with a glass still gripped in her hand. He picked up the bottle, looked over the label and poured himself a drink. They didn't need to know; She wouldn't want them to know. Not yet. Not until she was ready to tell them. He downed the glass in one large gulp.

But as much as the idiots drove him insane on occasions like today, he looked back at them, wishing for all the world he could tell them all the news.

He shook his head and poured himself another drink. He wondered if the yelling had woken Her up. The day had already stretched toward noon. He was sure She would need to leave soon. He lit another cigarette.

He watched his misfits as they went back to their usual activities, their curiosity of his relationship developments forgotten for the most part at least.

All except Finral.

The spatial mage was smarter than he looked. Yami knew he could keep a secret well enough, but of all of the idiots in his makeshift family, Yami was most worried about Finral figuring everything out. No only was the kid smart, he had the most information. Yami watched the younger man's face contort as he performed some mental gymnastics until finally his eyes widened with some epiphany. Yami took a sip of his drink followed by a long drag on his cigarette as Finral sidled up to him.

The young man took the stool next to Vanessa who mumbled in her sleep. Yami saw his eyes dart over her curvaceous body before he leaned on the bar.

"The woman. It's Charlotte Roselei, isn't it?" Finral coughed as Yami blew smoke into his face in response.

"And why do you think that?"

"Because I let her in last night. Took me a while to realize it was her though. Vanessa had me drinking with her."

"I'm surprised Vanessa's out here then and not in your room." Yami blew a cloud of smoke in his general direction once more.

"What? Oh, no. She, uh, she doesn't like me that way." He looked up at the captain who seemed as oblivious as ever as he took another sip of his drink.

"A shame."

"So I'm right, aren't I? About Charlotte. Unless it's some other hot blond with the same name you utter like it's the most amazing thing in the world." He recalled how Yami had spoken of her when he had admitted his feelings during their trip to the Blue Rose headquarters.

Yami sighed and Finral knew he had trapped him. Yami stubbed the butt of the cigarette out on the wooden bar top and nodded his head. Finral grinned triumphantly.

"So, what brought her all the way out here in the middle of the night, I wonder?" Finral waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Yami shrugged.

"She said she's been having some severe insomnia."

"Is that what they're calling it these days?"

"Do you want me to kill you?"

Finral threw his hands up in surrender, knowing Yami would never make good on the oft-repeated threat.

"She couldn't sleep, so she came here."

"Of all places."

"Yeah."

"I could be remembering things weirdly. I was pretty drunk, but she seemed very insistent, like she needed to talk to you."

Yami took a sip before lighting another cigarette.

"I wonder what was so important?"

"She's, uh, well, I guess you'll have to find out when she's ready to tell people about it."

Finral furrowed his brow as he tried to decipher what Yami meant. Yami took another sip, then an inhale and exhale as he watched Finral's face contort with the machinations of his mind. The younger man chewed the inside of his lip as he thought. His eyes darted from the bar top to Yami to the doorway leading to the hall and back.

"Luck said she was sick."

"Where is he? I'm going to kill him." Yami muttered as he held the cigarette tightly between his lips, smoke billowing out as he spoke. Finral's eyes darted around the room again.

"So, insomnia, and sickness, and she's still sleeping? You didn't wear her out that much, did you?"

Yami fixed him with a glare and Finral abandoned that train of thought. As he considered the details, another possibility sprang in his mind.

"Yami?" Finral leaned toward him over the bar and whispered. "Is she pregnant?"

"Shit." Yami closed his eyes and shook his head, not in denial, but in frustration. Finral's eyes went wide and he started to say something when Vanessa stirred next to him.

"Huh? Who's pregnant?" Vanessa muttered as she sat up and rubbed her head. Yami fixed Finral with a murderous glare.

"What? No one!" Finral chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to deflect any further questions. "I don't know how you got that at all, I said repugnant."

Vanessa looked from Finral to Yami and back several times, confused by the conversation. She took the bottle from near Yami's glass and poured herself another drink. She refilled the captain's cup as well.

"Oh, I just thought with that mystery woman here and all..." She swayed as she put the bottle back down and lost her balance on the stool. Finral reached for her, catching her before she hit the ground with his magic and depositing her onto the empty couch. She was snoozing even before her head hit the cushion.

"Nice save." Yami pointed out, and Finral wasn't sure if he meant the quick backpeddling or his actual catch of the drunk, unconscious woman.

"Thanks. I couldn't just let her fall."

"Right." Yami inhaled on his cigarette and let the smoke billow around him as he exhaled. "When are you going to tell her something?"

"What do you mean?" Finral's eyes lingered to the half-naked form of the pink-haired witch.

"You know what I mean."

Finral shook his head.

"Stop trying to change the subject." Finral slammed his hand on the bar top, frustrated by his superior's reading of his heroic rescue... even if it was right on the money. "Charlotte's pregnant, and you're the father aren't you?"

Yami took a sip of the newly filled glass and blew smoke into Finral's face once again.

"If you tell anyone, I will kill you."

"So I'm right." Finral grinned and chuckled as he looked at his boss. "Congratulations."

"Thanks? I guess?" Yami stared into the brown liquid as he swirled his cup.

"You're not excited?"

"I, well, Yes and no, I mean. I'm still trying to sort everything out. It's not like this was something I planned to have happen in my life, ever." He downed the rest of the liquid in a series of gulps, the glass never leaving his lips.

"Is she? Excited, I mean?"

"I don't know. We're both sort of, shocked, I guess?"

Finral shook his head in disbelief.

"I would imagine. I can barely believe it."

"Believe what?" Luck asked as he appeared out of nowhere.

"That's Yami's going to be a dad."

"What?" Luck exclaimed as Yami's hand shot out and latched on to Finral's throat.

"What did I just fucking say?" Yami shouted as he increased the pressure around Finral's windpipe.

"Sorry." Finral croaked out, his voice barely audible as his oxygen flow was cut off. "It just... came out."

"Maybe if I just crush your voice box you can still do your job and I won't have to worry about your big mouth anymore."

Finral's mouth gaped for air that could not enter his body.

"Yami, stop." Charlotte's voice cut through his anger as she stared at him from the doorway, and he released his grip on the younger man.

"Is Finral right, Boss?" Luck asked, keeping his distance as best he could. Charlotte looked at Yami.

"Right about what?" Charlotte asked.

"I promise, I didn't tell." Yami looked at her.

"That Yami's going to be a daddy." Luck said simultaneously.

Charlotte looked at Yami with raised eyebrows.

"Well, there's no point in hiding it now, I guess." She said as she walked over to him. She looked at Finral, who was still gasping slightly. She looked at the bruises on the younger man's neck where Yami's fingers had gripped it tightly. "Are you alright?"

Finral nodded.

"I'm sorry. I should have known before coming here how risky I was being. If I hadn't wanted anyone to know, I should have kept things to myself."

"No, I should have been more careful. I mean, Yami did just tell me he would kill me if I said anything not a minute earlier."

"He did." She looked at Yami. Finral waved his hands and smiled.

"He's always saying stuff like that, never acts on it. Just a toothless threat."

"These bruises aren't toothless." She looked closer. Yami watched her fret over his underling and felt a sense of rage, and guilt, and shame rising up from the pit of his stomach. He had no idea why he had gotten so angry. He had never lashed out as severely before, and never toward one he considered his friend, his family. He stubbed his cigarette out on the bar top once more and slipped outside.

"I promise, he never acts this way. Not to any of us, anyway." Finral said as he watched his captain's retreat. Charlotte followed his gaze as Yami walked through the door. "You should go talk to him." Finral said, trying to give her a reassuring smile. Charlotte looked at the door which had swung shut behind him. She felt paralyzed for a moment, wondering if she ever really knew the man she had fallen for so many years ago. They had been so young when he had broken the curse, and so much had happened to them since then. She had been so scared to own up to her feelings, she had dragged her feet, building a fantasy of him in her heart and mind. She wondered if in doing so, she had forgotten he was human.

"Go." Finral gestured for her to pursue him. Charlotte wanted to go after him, but part of her was too scared now, scared he would do something to hurt her or their child. She looked at the young man next to her. He gave her a reassuring smile she had thought impossible given what had happened. She hurried to the door.

As she pushed the wooden door open, she blinked as she stepped into the sunlight. She took a moment to adjust to the brightness before she looked around. She realized she had no idea where he might have gone. She saw the broom she had flown in on leaning up against the building, and in the shadows a short distance away, Yami sat on the ground. His knees were pulled up to his chest and his head pressed against the exterior wall of the building. He looked to be staring into space. She could not see until she approached him, but his cheeks were streaked with tears.

He roughly wiped his face as she approached and squatted down across from him.

"I didn't mean to hurt him." He would not meet her eyes. "I, I don't know. It's just too much."

"That's not an excuse though." Her voice was firm yet caring.

"You're right; it's not."

"You should apologize."

He looked at her then before curling further in on himself.

"Are you angry? About this?" She gestured toward her belly.

"I don't know. A little, maybe? It's just... I didn't expect it. I never expected anything like this. Since I came here, I've never had a family, not a real one."

"You have a family, Yami. You may not be related by blood, but you are a family, at least from what I can see."

"What, my band of misfits?"

"What was the quote I heard somewhere? When you get a bunch of misfits together, you either get a family or a bunch of assholes, I think it was. So which are the Black Bulls?"

"Assholes, definitely assholes."

"Yami." Charlotte rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Probably a bit of both actually. If I think about it."

Charlotte nodded as she touched his cheek. Yami leaned into the light brush of her fingers.

"You should tell them." She said. "And you should apologize."

"But I, I didn't want to risk hurting you if I did. I know how important your reputation is to you."

Charlotte sighed. She knew how he had gotten the idea. And he was right-her reputation as a man-hating bad-ass had been incredibly important to her. But since being trapped with him, she found herself caring less and less about it.

"Everyone will know soon enough, anyway. Besides, it's not like our squads work together much."

"Are you going to tell your family?"

Charlotte looked at him, meeting his golden brown eyes.

"I'll tell those closest to me, but my mother and father... well, they wouldn't want to know."

He knit his brow together, wondering how much he should pry when she stood.

"Come on. You need to apologize."

"Now?"

She held her hand out to him.

"Yes, now."

He let her pull him up, only help a bit. She tried to turn him, to guide him back inside, but he stood rooted to the ground beneath him, interlocking his fingers with hers. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the inside of her wrist gently.

"Alright."

He would not let go of her hand as they entered the room. Nearly all of the Black Bulls had remained in the room, but not for any special reason, as far as he could tell. Rather, they were all there going about their own business-all except for Asta and Noelle, and a few others who were missing for any number of reasons. Even Vanessa had woken up.

"Listen up." He started, trying to gather their attention. Failing to do so, he put his fist through the wall behind him, taking out half the door in the process. Charlotte looked at him with wide eyes. The assembled squad members quickly fell into line.

"Is this typical?" Charlotte asked, stunned.

"Yep." Yami whispered to her before addressing the group before him. "Alright, you idiots. I have something to tell you all, but it cannot leave these four walls. Anyone who is not here, they don't deserve to know."

"Should we wait for Asta then? And Noelle?" Magna asked.

"Where are they?"

The rest of the team looked at each other and shrugged.

"Then they don't get to know. Alright." He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "You all know Charlotte? She's the Captain of the Blue Rose Squad? You should have at least heard of her..." Most of the assembled team nodded their heads, but Magna and Luck shrugged. Yami rubbed the bridge of his nose. The pressure of Charlotte's hand squeezing his helped to calm his frustrations. "Anyway, I... we..." He sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging under the weight of what he was trying to say.

"I'm pregnant." She said for him, opting to not sugar coat the situation. She sighed once the words came out of her mouth. She had not imagined how much holding the secret had weighed upon her until she said it aloud to others, strangers, essentially.

"Yami is the father."

* * *

A/N: Because of my work schedule, my writing/posting schedule will slow down. This will also likely affect my ability to edit for continuity before I post. Therefore, I do apologize in advance for any inconsistencies between chapters. Eventually I will go through and fix things, maybe.


	4. Chapter 4

"WHAT?!" Vanessa looked from Yami to the blond woman at his side and back. The woman seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place where she knew her from. Vanessa sputtered a few incoherent noises before getting up and storming out of the room. Yami looked at her in confusion.

"What's wrong with her?"

Finral, Charmy, and Magna sighed simultaneously at their captain's blindness.

"Nothing. I'll talk to her later." Finral answered, wondering how Yami had never noticed Vanessa's infatuation with him.

Charlotte squeezed Yami's hand and looked up at him expectantly.

"Right." Yami sighed before looking at the spatial mage. "Finral, I'm sorry I lashed out at you." He looked at the group gathered before him. "I've never really been good with stuff like this, family stuff, but I want you to know, all of you, how much you mean to me."

Charlotte wrapped her arm around his, holding his large hand with both of hers. She laid her head on his shoulder, encouraging him. He sighed and lit another cigarette. A quick inhale and he blew out smoke toward the ceiling.

"None of us have any ties, not really anyway, to anyone else in this world. Except to each other. When I was shipwrecked here, I lost my family, my entire world. I had to build a new one from scratch. And it's taken this long for me to realize that as I built a life for myself, I also built a family. With all of you."

The remaining Bulls stared at him with various expressions of shock and awe on their faces. He looked at each of them in turn, wishing for the life of him, the entire squad were here. He reminded himself to go check in on Henry later. The sickly young man deserved to know as much as everyone else.

"So, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being harsh to you at times. I'm especially sorry for hurting you, Finral. You all know I don't actually mean it when I say I'll kill you, right?"

The squad members all slowly nodded, but could not speak for the shock.

"Soon, we'll welcome a new member of the family." He turned to Charlotte and brushed her cheek with his thumb. She nodded.

"Yeah." She stepped toward him and into his embrace. He lay a cheek on her head, and squeezed her tightly.

"You're my family too, right?" He whispered. He hoped for an answer, but he had spoken so softly, he was not sure she had heard him. She squeezed his waist, and he took the movement as all the confirmation he would need. He looked down at her, brushing her hair back from her face. He seemed to forget about the audience in the room .

"I really should get going." Melancholy filled her voice as she laid her head against his shoulder once more, nuzzling her nose into the muscles at his neck. He took the cigarette from between his lips, trying to keep ash from falling onto her.

"Do you?"

"Yeah." She looked into his eyes and smiled proudly as she rubbed her hands over his chest.

"You know, you can come back anytime." He leaned forward and kissed her.

"I may do just that, but now, I'm sure everyone's worried about me." She sighed as she took a step away from him. "And I'm going to have quite a bit of explaining to do."

He chuckled as he looked her over. The pale fabric was only slightly darker than her skin, somewhere between the color of her eyes and the color of her hair. The gown was short, but not indecent, as it hit her mid-thigh, and it hung on her body in a way which he found incredibly pleasing. He licked his lips, wishing he could pull it over her head once more.

"That you are." He lifted her hands up to his lips and kissed them both. "Want Finral to zip you home?"

"Can't. Doctor's orders. No teleportation."

He raised his eyebrows.

"Well, that sucks."

She sighed.

"Tell me about it." She moved closer quickly and kissed him again. "Bye." She looked at him, reluctant to leave. He placed his arm over her shoulder and walked her to the door. He kissed her again as the door closed behind them.

"I don't want to leave." She admitted once the door shut fully.

"I don't want you to leave either, but you have to, and you know it."

She sighed as she picked up the broom she had ridden there in the first place.

Yami watched as she took to the air, and kept watching as she disappeared into the distance until he could see her no longer. As he watched, a noise in the woods drew his attention.

"Where the hell have you been?" Yami stuck the cigarette back between his lips as Asta emerged from the trees.

"Training."

"Oh. Where's Noelle?"

Asta shrugged.

"I dunno. I'm not her keeper."

Yami frowned as he flicked the ash from the end of the cigarette. He looked at the kid before him. He had set the rule himself, to not tell anyone outside of those present, but Asta was as much family as any of the others. Yami thought he should tell him.

"I'm starved." Asta said oblivious to Yami's soul searching. "Did Charmy eat all of the lunch yet?" The young knight pushed the door open and left Yami standing in the noon-day sun shaking his head.

Yami looked back to the sky, hoping to see the speck of her in the distance, but she was gone. She was on her way home to her own brigade. He wondered if she would tell them. He wondered if her own squad was as much her family as the Bulls were his. Somehow, he doubted it.

He turned back to the building and opened the door only to be greeted by Noelle screaming at Asta over where he's been. He watched the pair of kids for a moment before he slipped away.

He wound his way down the ever-changing corridors deep into the belly of the building. He glanced down a a hallway, where two people were sitting across from each other in the dark., their backs against the walls of the narrow passageway. The light was dim and he could barely make out the pair. They were talking in low voices which he could not make out. He squinted down the hallway where their forms were silhouetted against the light. He smirked as he recognized Finral and Vanessa.

He continued on his way through the haphazard layout of the building. Stone and brick walls gave way to wood and plaster and then went back again in a random pattern only defined by the imagination of the one who commanded them. He reached a door isolated from the others and knocked.

He was met with silence. He knocked again, knowing the room's occupant was likely shocked by having a visitor.

"Yes?" The voice which issued forth through the heavy wooden door was slow and deliberate. Yami opened the door and peeked in.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course, Captain." The words were exaggerated and elongated as Yami waited before walking through the door. "I thought you might be Asta."

Yami cocked an eyebrow up in surprise, and then chuckled.

"Figures the kid would find his way up here." He muttered with a shake of his head. "You know I can't stay long."

"Of course, but it is good to have a visitor. Asta keeps me company sometimes."

"I'm glad you have a friend, Henry."

The sickly, pale man smiled.

"Yes. But you are all my friends."

"You know what I mean." Yami stuck a cigarette between his lips but did not light it. The feel of the filter against his lips comforted him somewhat as he tapped his foot nervously.

"What brings you to visit, Captain?"

"I just... All the others know, and I figured I should tell you, since you couldn't be there when I told them." Yami rambled, taking the unlit cigarette from his mouth and placing it back again.

"Is something wrong?"

Yami shook his head. Being around Henry always made him feel on edge. He could feel his mana draining as the sickness within the other man siphoned it away. Even in the few minutes with him, Yami could see Henry's color improve and his movements quicken.

"No. I, um, I'm going to be a father." The words still felt strange in his mouth. A slow broad smile spread across Henry's face.

"Congratulations, Yami." The bedridden man nodded. "You are going to be a great dad."

Yami laughed.

"You think so?"

Henry nodded.

"If you can make a family out of them, out of us, then I know you will be a wonderful father to any child you have."

Yami shook his head.

"Doesn't mean it's not a stupid fucking idea. Anyway, you deserved to know since all the others do, well most of them anyway. But I have to go now." Yami rubbed his forehead as he backed toward the door.

"Of course, Captain. It was good to see you."

Yami nodded before pulling the door open. He stopped before he pulled the door shut behind him and turned toward the oldest member of the Black Bulls.

"Hey, don't tell Asta yet when he comes to see you."

"Why not? He wasn't there?"

Yami shook his head.

"No, and I don't think the kid can keep a secret."

Henry chuckled.

"As you wish, Captain."

Yami's gaze lingered on the long haired figure sitting up in bed for a moment before he closed the door. He made his way back through the labyrinth of corridors and stairs to the main living area of the building. Finral and Vanessa were no longer sitting in quiet conversation in the darkened hallway. When he finally made his way back to the common room, everything seemed quiet and normal.

Well, what passed for quiet and normal in the household, anyway.

Yami leaned against the wall watching his charges, wondering how things might change in the next few months. He could not imagine raising a child in the base, or that Charlotte would want to spend more time here than necessary. The thought bothered him. He wanted to be able to be with Charlotte, and not just on some random occasion when she needed him too. He had said it as a joke months ago, but he realized now how much he had meant what he said. Only he didn't want to wait until they were old to take care of each other, not anymore.

He lit his cigarette and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched. When his scan of the room fell on Vanessa, he frowned. He had been surprised by her reaction to the news. He hadn't expected enthusiastic supportive reactions from everyone. Hell, he hadn't expected more than mild shock from his gang. But Vanessa's anger was completely unexpected.

She was sitting at the bar, kicking back one drink after another. She was going through bottles as quickly as he went through cigarettes. He walked over and took the spot across the bar from her.

"You're drinking heavier than usual."

She gave him a dismissive snort before she drained another cup. She poured another drink for herself.

"How long?"

"What?"

"How long has this been a thing, Yami?"

He raised his eyebrows, still confused.

"Well, since we were stuck in that cave, I would imagine." He assumed she had meant the pregnancy.

"No, I'm not talking about that." Her words were starting to slur together from the combination of the anger and the alcohol. "How long have you been in love with her? How long really?"

He sighed, breathing out a long plume of smoke as he did so. The answer to her question eluded him.

"I first realized it in the cave, but..."

"But?"

"It might have been longer than that. Maybe a lot longer." He admitted.

"And you didn't think to tell me?" She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Why would I do that? It's not like we were, I mean aside from that once and that was on accident."

"Accident? You don't just sleep with someone on accident, Yami."

"We were both wasted, Vanessa. I mean, I know that's your normal state, but I don't ever let myself go to those extremes. I've regretted doing so ever since."

She blanched and closed her eyes, her face screwing up as if she were in pain. When she looked at him again, she had murder in her eyes.

"I don't even know what to say right now." Her voice was a tight whisper. "Ugh, I feel like such an idiot." She stood and started to storm off but slipped and fell to the floor instead. She pulled her knees to her chest as she lay on the floor.

"I should have known you could never feel the same way for me. I thought that after being by your side for all these years,that eventually, maybe, I don't know. That night I thought I had finally won you over, but..."

Yami squatted down next to her.

"What do you want me to say? I'm sorry? I've never imagined us as a possibility. I've always seen you more like a sister. That's why I regret that night we did have sex. Not because I don't like you, but because you're special to me in a different kind of way."

She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes, unshod. Slowly she pulled herself up and sat facing him.

Yami took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air and smoke before exhaling slowly.

"I hated myself for taking advantage of you that night, because you were like my little sister, and I needed to protect you."

"I was a grown woman, Yami."

"I know. But you were still learning so much about the world; you were still so innocent." He took another deep drag. "Let me tell you a story. When I was nineteen, Julius sent me out on a mission. Actually, I hadn't turned nineteen yet, but I had my birthday while on the mission, so it's close enough. I don't remember the details of the mission entirely, but he sent me alone. He knew I had a hard time working well with others, so he would give me solo jobs from time to time. Anyway, the mission wasn't important, and I suspected even then the mission he gave me wasn't the actual mission he sent me on."

He sat cross-legged facing her. He flicked the ash from the end of his cigarette before placing it back between his lips. He could sense the others creeping closer to hear the story as well.

"After the mission, he told me to go to the most amazing noodle shop I had ever been to. For a sort of birthday celebration, which was the day before. The shop was in this town I had never been to before, but reminded me of Kikka, with the old stone buildings and the nobles with noses stuck up their asses."

Vanessa chuckled at the description despite herself.

"But the soup I had in that shop was amazing, like..." he licked his lips and gestured, his cigarette between two fingers, as he tried to find the right words to describe the food. "Oh, it was so good." He stuck the cigarette back between his lips.

"But as I was eating, all hell broke loose. Someone's magic went out of control and people started screaming and running in panic. Saying something about a curse. I had no idea what they were talking about, but well, when people run one way, I've always run the other. It's a awful stupid trait to have, really, but..." He shrugged.

"So I run toward the thing, and I see her. Her magic has gone haywire and is ripping everything up, tearing buildings to shreds and filling the streets with thorny mats. Now, keep in mind, I'd seen her before. We'd served together in a few battles in the war against the Spade Kingdom. Even then, she was a beauty, and all of the young men were trying to win her heart-Nobles and commoners alike. If I remember correctly, even Nozel and Fuegoleon tried flirting with her a couple of times. But she was as cold as ice and as sharp as the thorns on her briars to any man who came her way. Like the other young man, I also thought she was beautiful, but it's one thing to accept the existence of beauty and another thing to pursue it."

"And you didn't." She said.

He shook his head.

"No, because I knew I could never stand a chance with a woman like her. If she rejected royals, what would she think of a foreigner? Besides, she was nobility, and I had my own issues with nobility. Before that day in the town, I had admired her from a distance, never entertaining the thought of anything more."

"So what happened?" Magna asked as he settled down on the floor next to Vanessa. Yami looked at the gathered crowd.

"I was just telling this story to Vanessa." Yami complained.

"Aw, come on, Boss. Go on, please?" Luck goaded. Yami took one last drag on the cigarette before stubbing it out on the floor and placing another between his lips.

"Alright, fine. I see her in the market square, surrounded by her magic gone wild, but her vines kept growing quickly, filling the gaps I had cut in them almost as quickly as I cut them. But eventually, I reach her, or at least close enough to her to talk to her. She looked angry, disappointed, ashamed. And when she looked at me, she looked disgusted. It was a far cry from her usual calm and collected self. I said something to her. I don't remember what exactly, but something about trusting people. You see, she was always alone, even on the battlefield, though I know for a fact the Blue Rose squad drilled in two and three person attack cell formations. She never worked with anyone. She never trusted anyone enough to have her back."

He took a deep inhale, trying to recall exactly the words he had said which had changed the look on her face.

"Whatever I said, it got through to her. The briars faded away into nothing. I helped her up and as I touched her hand... Something happened. I don't know what. It sort of felt like getting hit by Luck's lightning, but not exactly. It was the first time I looked into her eyes. I can't explain what I saw there. I don't know what it was or why it struck me so, but ever since, I knew we were connected."

"Who would have thought Yami would be a victim of love at first sight?" Finral chuckled.

"Shut up." Yami blew smoke in Finral's general direction. "Anyway, whatever I had said had broken the curse. I didn't understand how or why at the time. Not until years later. Julius dropped the bomb on me one day after the Star Festival. I don't think he even realized that I didn't know what had happened that day."

"So what was it? How did you break the curse?" Noelle asked, her lavender eyes wide with anticipation.

Yami looked at the floor, his mind racing back to the afternoon he had broken the curse.

"Some curses have dispel conditions, you know? Well hers did. I fulfilled the condition." The gathered group practically leaned forward in anticipation. He could feel them pressing in on him as he took a long drag on the cigarette between his lips. He took it from between his lips and exhaled. Too deep now, he thought, as his heart pounded against his ribs. The only other person who knew the story was Julius, and even then, Yami had to be pretty drunk to tell him.

"The condition was to have a man steal her heart. I didn't know it at the time. In fact, I didn't know it until Julius told me years later." He stuck the cigarette back between his lips. "To be honest, even when Julius told me, I thought he was lying. There was no way someone like her could fall for someone like me. And I was so angry with him manipulating me like that. He knew the whole time. He knew when he sent me."

"Why didn't he tell you?"

"He might be an insufferable magic geek, but Julius always is looking for a way to game the system. And he's playing the really long game. He sent me there knowing I could break the curse, but he didn't tell me anything about it because he knew I wouldn't go otherwise. At the time, I was still trying to get over my earlier issues with the noble class here. It was fine on an individual basis; I worked with other knights who were nobles with no problem. But had I known what the possible outcome might be... well, I had to deal with lovesick noble girls before and it was never a pleasant experience."

He took a deep breath and looked at his audience.

"Charlotte was different, though. She had always been different from the other noblewomen I had met. Independently strong, determined." He sighed. "Always so sure of herself. Sometimes annoyingly so. She isolated herself so much; she never trusted anyone, not even her own squad. And despite people throwing themselves at her, she always turned them down. It was like she was waiting for something, or someone strong enough to break the curse."

"For you?" Gray asked in Finral's voice.

Yami shrugged.

"Perhaps, but I didn't know what had happened until years later. The squad had only been around for a couple of years. Our reputation was already starting to form. After the award ceremony, we were in last place-typical, I know, and Julius pulled me aside. He spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to convince me to go talk to her. Thinking back now, he was probably a little tipsy. He knew I liked her, so he tried, I dunno, I think he could have used his magic had he wanted, but time magic might not work that way."

He took a long drag and exhaled slowly as he flicked ash from the end of the cigarette.

"Anyway, that night we came home. The group was smaller then; Charmy was a rookie and I had just picked up Gauche somewhere. I was so frustrated with Julius and his insistence. I started drinking at the party and continued drinking through the early mornings. I wanted to drown out the feelings I had for Charlotte, feelings I had been able to ignore until Julius kept badgering me about them. So, Vanessa, when you started drinking with me, things took a strange turn."

He looked at Vanessa, ignoring the rest of the gathered crowd.

"I'm sorry I hurt you, or led you on somehow. That night was a very difficult night for me, and I needed the distraction. I would have usually gone to town, but I was already too drunk to fly straight. I never intended for anything to happen the way it did."

"Because you love her and you don't love me." Bitterness tinged Vanessa's voice.

"Well, not like that anyway."

"You know? I've been in love with you since you rescued me too." Vanessa shook her head, not caring who was watching her admission. "I would have followed you anywhere you asked."

"And now?" His gaze held her eyes.

"I don't know." She stood, suddenly sober. "Excuse me." She picked her way over, around, and through the circle of people who surrounded them as Yami told his story.

Yami and Finral both watched as she disappeared from the room. Yami caught sight of the girl-crazed young mage sigh. He wished he could do more, or say more, give her something to comfort her, or to let her down easy, but he had never been an easy sort of person, Yami thought. He had done all he could. He looked at the spatial mage who was still staring at the dark doorway. Someone else needed to go pick up the pieces.

"Well, I'm going to take a nap." Yami picked himself up from the floor with great effort. As the rest of his squad went off their own ways, Yami wondered if he had fractured his family beyond repair.

"Nothing to be done about it now." He muttered as he turned down the hallway to his room. "We'll figure it out when we need to." He collapsed onto the thin mat he used as a bed. Charlotte's scent lingered in the fabric, and he hugged the blanket to him, breathing deeply of her. He wished she hadn't had to leave as he willed sleep to come. With thoughts filled with her, with his skin craving her touch, sleep eluded him.

\\*\\*\\*

Charlotte found herself circling above her squad's headquarters in lazy loops around the perimeter. She tried to work out what she could say to her squad. She was certain they would say something to her. She wanted to tell them, but the thought terrified her. She could not bear it, she thought, if they lost their respect for her. She had worked hard and sacrificed nearly everything to get where she was; she did not want to ruin that with one slip of the tongue.

She sighed as she angled the broom toward the gate, thinking the slip of the tongue which got her into this situation occurred weeks ago. When she landed at the gate, she was berating herself once more for her lack of self-control in the moment, and then again for how hard she was being on herself.

"Where have you been?" Her second in command stood at the top of the steps with her hands firmly planted on her hips. Sol was bouncing anxiously behind her. "We were about to send out search parties."

Mira's dark eyes flared when Charlotte met the short woman's angry face.

"I, uh, I just had somethings to figure out. I've had a lot on my mind."

"Well, you had us all worried sick."

"Why do you smell like smoke, Big Sis?" Sol said from her side. Charlotte hadn't noticed it before, but upon sniffing her nightgown she could indeed smell the scent of his cigarettes. And underneath it, she could smell him. She sighed, her eyes drifting closed as she inhaled deeply. She wanted him again. She wanted to turn right back around, grab her broom, and go to his side.

"I, uh, I don't know."

"It's not even the good smoke smell. It's the gross smoke smell."

"There's a good smoke smell?"

"Of course there is! You know, the good smell of camp fires and cooking meat?" Sol suggested. Charlotte's knowledge of camp fires and their smell was tied to the many nights between battles, where the crackle and smell of burning wood was undercut with the smell of blood and the screams of the injured.

"If you say so." Charlotte tried to push past her vice-captain, but the short woman stood in her way.

"You never answered my question."

Charlotte took a deep breath, tried to go around Mira once more only to be stopped again. She sighed and resigned herself to telling at least one person on her squad.

"Can we talk about it in my office in about five minutes?" She sniffed her nightgown once more. She needed to clean up after the flight and everything else. "Make that fifteen."

As she finally entered the building, she was accosted once more. Anais stopped her asking the same questions, only they were colored with concern for the child she carried. Charlotte commended Anais on her discretion, but the midwife reminded her how soon everyone would be able to tell and her discretion would mean little then. The healer urged Charlotte to open up about what happened.

"The squad deserves to know, don't you think?" Anais said as they reached the door the Charlotte's chambers.

"You're right. I will tell them soon. I promise." Charlotte had every intention of living up to the promise. She would tell them all of her condition, but she was still on the fence about telling them who had fathered the child she carried. She felt they would not be able to understand.

As she bathed, Charlotte wished for Yami's hands on her belly and his lips on her neck again. She thought seeing him would be enough to sate her desire, but in some ways, her desire was only heightened by the memory. She groaned in frustration. He had said she was welcome any time she wanted him, but she feared she would grow complacent and lazy, if she acted on her desire to be surrounded by his touch at all times. She needed to focus, she thought. Maybe it would be easier to focus if she could enlist some help.

By the time she had pulled herself from the bath, dressed and made her way to the office, Mira was already waiting for her. Thankfully, Sol was nowhere to be found. Mira would understand, she thought. Mira could sympathize.

"So?" The short dark haired woman asked as Charlotte walked through the door. She closed the door behind her and stood with her weight against the wooden door. She took a deep breath.

"I'm pregnant, Mira."

The other woman's eyes grew as wide as saucers are round.

"What?" She looked at Charlotte's belly before meeting her eyes again. "What?"

Charlotte sighed.

"I'm pregnant."

"How long?" Disbelief filled her voice.

"A few months."

Mira's eyes darted around the room before settling back on Charlotte who had now sat in the chair across from her.

"Sorry, I just never would have thought you of all of us."

"I know. I'm still trying to process it all myself. Sometimes I hate myself for it, for my moment of weakness."

"Weakness? Charlotte, you have been the happiest I've seen you lately. Well the past few months anyway. You've been sort of anxious the last week or so."

"That's when I found out. Anais confirmed it."

"She knew and didn't tell me? That little bitch..."

Charlotte smiled, knowing the pair had always been two peas in a pod ever since they both joined the squad. Charlotte might think of Mira as her best friend, but it had taken Yami breaking the curse for her to even seek out friendship among her own squad. Anais had a couple of years more experience dealing with Mira and they were always calling each other rude names in jest.

Mira's gaze went from hot to cool as she regarded Charlotte. Wheels spun in her head as she linked events.

"A few months ago, huh?" Mira scratched her chin. Charlotte nodded.

"Yeah." Charlotte shifted in her seat, knowing Mira would fit the pieces together.

"So how long were you stuck in that cave with Yami?"

Charlotte blushed.

"Long enough."

"Don't get me wrong, I would have done the same, but damn Charlotte. I can't believe you didn't tell me." Mira raised her eyebrows as another realization came to her. "That's where you were today, wasn't it?"

Charlotte put her head in her hands.

"Yes." She said, pitifully. "I can't stop thinking about him."

"Is he as dominate as I imagine? Or does he have a softer side? Is he really like a raging bull?" Mira gave her a wicked grin as she leaned forward.

"Mira!" Charlotte turned scarlet. Mira threw her hands up in defeat.

"Does he know?"

"He does now." She sighed. "I wasn't even sure I was going to keep it, keep her until today."

Mira leaned forward and squeezed her friend's hand.

"That's difficult decision to make. Either way, it's life changing."

Charlotte nodded, only now realizing how much she wanted to start a family with Yami. Perhaps, in a different life, they would have already be on that path, if he had not been a shipwrecked foreigner, or if she were her parent's child. She wondered, though, had things been different if they would have even met, or if they had, would she had fallen for him so completely.

Charlotte sighed.

"So when are you telling the squad?" Mira asked, leaning back in the chair.

Charlotte's heart raced as she worried about the reactions of those under her command. She imagined the varied nature of them, and most of them she imagined would be far more negative than Mira's.

"I hadn't really thought about it. I guess I should tell them soon."

Mira nodded sagely. The vice-captain's promiscuous nature had led to her own pregnancy a few years prior. Her son was adorable and lived with his father in a village in the mountain near the Spade Kingdom. Charlotte knew it had not been her first pregnancy, but it was the first child she had brought into the world.

"You're nearly four months along. I'm surprised your armor still fits comfortably. And everyone will start to wonder soon, because everything will start shifting."

"I'll tell them soon. I've had too many revelations for one day."

"Are you worried about what everyone with think?" Mira regarded Charlotte with a raised eyebrow. "Don't deny it, I know you too well."

Charlotte let out a long breath and nodded her head.

"Don't be. I mean, Sol's going to be heartbroken, but she'll accept it. And everyone else will be so excited for you once the shock wears off."

"You think they will be shocked?"

"Charlotte, I'm shocked. I was shocked when I found out what happened in the cave and I'm even more shocked that neither of you-grown adults that you are-didn't think things through enough to use any sort of protection. But you know what?" Mira leaned forward once more, meeting Charlotte's eyes.

"What?"

"I'm most shocked of all you hadn't pursued him sooner. Doubly so given how happy you've been since then. And don't think I'm the only one who's noticed."

"Noticed what?"

"How you've been humming to yourself, and staring off into the distance, smiling, when you didn't think anyone could see you."

Charlotte blushed and wondered how many others had noticed a change in her behavior.

"But," Mira tapped her chin in thought. "This does raise a question."

"What do you mean?"

"If both of you are captains and need to oversee your respective squads, who's going to raise the kid?"

Charlotte's eyebrows shot up. She took a deep breath, suddenly feeling the constriction of her breastplate. She unfastened the armor piece and breathed deeply. She had not had time to consider the logistics of what would happen after she gave birth. She hadn't wanted to think so far in case something happened to the child, whether intentional or not. But now she wanted the child, and she wanted Yami by her side to raise it. She sighed again. If she were to be truthful, she wanted Yami by her side now, even if only to hold her.

"I'm not sure." Charlotte admitted. "I hadn't thought that far ahead."

\\*\\*\\*

Yami sat on the porch which had appeared outside the door that had opened up in his bedroom wall. At first it had pissed him off to have his space so drastically altered, but he had to admit the private bathroom was nice, and useful. He had a feeling Henry had made the changes on purpose, though he hadn't asked him to. The exterior entrance and attached bathroom was nice, but Yami was confused by another door added to the room. He was fairly certain the small empty room it led to had not been part of the house prior, and Yami couldn't quite figure out its purpose.

His feet dangled off the ledge made by the porch, reminding him of the house he had grown up in-only this ledge was made of stone where the other was wooden. He took a long inhale on his cigarette and blew the smoke out slowly. As he looked up in the sky, he noticed something flying toward the base. He squinted, trying to make out the object against the starlit sky. Eventually it grew closer and closer until the figure descended to the clearing around the house. The rider's blond hair was tightly coiled around her head, and she was missing her typical armor and helmet. Yami found himself wishing she was in the nightgown she had shown up in before.

She walked up to him and he stubbed the half-used cigarette out on the stone floor.

"What a surprise." He hopped down from the ledge and slipped his hands around her waist.

She pulled him to her in a deep kiss.

"And even more surprising." He kissed the tip of her nose. "What brings you back here?"

She rubbed her hands over his chest as she tried to decide if she wanted to wrap them around his waist or around his neck.

"Lots of things, actually, but can it be mostly that I missed you?"

A broad, toothy grin spread over his face.

"I missed you too."

"We need to figure out how we're going to raise this child, Yami."

He kissed her.

"Plenty of time for that later." He pulled her against him and she slipped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. She felt safe in his embrace, safe in a way she had never quite experienced before. He felt his breathing slow as he stroked her back, feeling a sense of peace he had chased for longer than he could remember.

"Right." She whispered as she lost herself in his warmth.

* * *

A/N: To Be Continued in Crisis.


End file.
